City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare

There's some new baddies, more fighting and lots of hot kisses!

I know that most readers have been swooning over Jace, but I was never one to be attracted to self-loathin, over compensating studs.  My initial character crush was Simon, and this installment of the MI series, has sealed it.  I was hardly upset at him seeing both girls; I genuinely believe that it was to spare their feelings.  He wasn’t trying to dog them.

This story picks up about 2 months after City of Glass ends.  We find the group adapting to their new pairings and situations.  Simon is wrestling with how to deal with his family and being a vampire. Since he has refused to join any clans and is having to learn the vampire rules, regulations and tricks on his own, while being wooed to form alliances. 

Jace and Clary…of course have a great 2 months and then the relationship gets rocky.  What was incredibly cool was Clary’s new found fierceness.  Her training is paying off, she was kicking demon butt, and solving some problems. 

Kudos to Clare for keeping true to her characters’ traits and everyone still being them. I did see evidence of some personal growth in Clary and we were able to hear more of Simon’s point of view, but Clary was the one that had the most growth from the crew.  The way that she dealt with Jace’s dumb behavior was more mature than it would have been in the past three books.

My other favorite character, Magnus Bane, was MIA most of the book. He and Alexander were travelin’ together, even stopping in South Carolina, hmmm.  Good for them.  I like how Clare handles SC in her books.  Eluded to, left up to your imagination, slow but hot…keeps you coming back for more.

I’m not going to lie, the ending made me angry.  It’s like watching a soap for a few years, waiting for that super couple to finally get together and when they do, in comes the villain and throws a monkey wrench in their love.  Sooooooo although I was peeved about the ending, I’m also intrigued and what comes next.  Why? ‘Cuase I’ve grown to care for these characters, I’ve vested in what happens to them, so I relax.  Then I find out I have a whole year to wait for the next one!!! What!

I actually re-read the book.  I read it the first time in such a crazed frenzy that I needed to re-read again just to make sure I got everything.  Made me think I might re-read the first three again just because.

Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

Tessa is a teen that travels by herself to London to meet her older brother and ends up getting kidnapped.  Someone wants to use her "changing" abilities for bad.  Enter the Good guys that take her in to protect her.  I usually figure out the twists and turns in these pretty quickly, so it was great to be kept in the dark up until the end.  There is a romance triangle in the making.  Which really sucks, because really?? Only a masochist would hook up with Will.  Girls need to stop trying to save boys like this. 

Clare is setting it up to be a good series, but I just liked her Mortal Instruments characters more. I missed them when the last book was done.  With this book I was almost relieved to say good-bye.  The only one that I would want to see/hear more of would be Jem.  Everyone else I felt was just too whiny.

I thoroughly enjoyed Cassandra Clare's Mortal Instruments Series.  This new series I'll see through because know I need to know what happens.  Not so much because I care about the characters. 
This story takes place in Victorian London and I think that the story was very well evolved for the time period.  I remember reading many romance novels of this time period.  The setting has a lot to do with the behaviors of the characters.  I found it interesting how most women during this time would have killed for an opportunity like Jessie's and she wanted to be a lady and raise babies.
I'm invested for the rest of the books, I'll read it when I have time, but I am not as anxious for the next installment as I am for City of Angels.